Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

psychology > approaches for offending > Flashcards

approaches for offending Flashcards

1
Q

when was the historical approach created

A

1870

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
1
Q

who created the historical approach

A

lombroso

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what did Lombroso say about criminals

A

said that criminals have physical characteristics have more primitive stages of development

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what where these features called

A

atavistic features

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

how did Lombroso carry out his experiment

A

used 4,000 Italian criminals and 400 dead ones and studied them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

findings of this study

A

said that the atavistic features where a heavy jaw, large strong jaw, large ears, extra nipples and extra finger/toes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Other research on atavistic features

A

Goring- compared London convicts with a control group. He failed to replicate lombroso’s study and showed there was no link.
Hooton- found features but they were different to lombrosos feature findings

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

positives of the historical approach

A
  • it was progressive for the time as before they believe criminality stemmed for a religious stand point.
  • features may be linked to committing crimes
    counterpoint- but Agnew for that these linked to criminality as they would be met with unappealing comments which would have made them feel self conscious due to having undesirable features
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

negatives of the historical approach

A
  • there was no control group as he only measured facial features. it has had to draw a conclusion, only correlations can be established
  • lombroso may have included disabled people in his sample which would skew the results as some disabilities have an impact on physical appearance.
  • unhelpful stereotype which can lead people into being classed as criminals when they are not
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

studies for genetic relation to criminality

A

twin studies, family studies and adoption studies

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

twin studies example

A

christiansen reviewed 3586 pairs of twins. MZ twins has a 35% concordance rate and DZ twins had a 13% concordance rate. this shows there is some genetic explanation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

family studies example

A

farrington found that 75% of people with a criminal mum and a criminal dad were also offenders themselves

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

adoption studies example

A

children had behaviours 16% similar to adopted parents and 43% similar to there birth parents. shows that even though they didn’t grow up with them they still influenced there behaviour some how

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

positives of the genetic approach

A
  • MZ twins had a higher concordance rate then DZ twins
  • it would explain why adopted children are more similar to biological parents as they have had to influence environmentally from them
  • there is studies to back it up
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

negatives of the genetic approach

A
  • if genetics was the only explanation, MZ concordance rate would be 100% and DZ would have 50% but it isn’t so there must be external factors.
  • MZ twins are treated more similarly as they look the same so would explain why they are more alike.
  • The stress of adoption could lead to offending behaviours and not a genetic influence from their biological parents
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what is Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality

A

he believed that all personalities are made up of certain traits and the level you work at them traits determines your personality.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what is Eysenck’s three personalities

A

extraversion- social, impulsive, expressive and risk taking.
neuroticism- nervous, anxious, obsessive
psychoticism- insensitive, unconventional and lacks conscience.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

biological basis to the theory

A

extraversion- seeks stimulation from the environment to raise level of cortical.

neuroticism- the autonomic nervous system. those with neuroticism would have a fast reaction

psychoticism- testosterone links

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

research to support eysenck

A

heaven- longitudinal study monitoring 282 14 year olds. showed that psychoticism was the best judge of delinquency

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

limitation to Eysenck’s theory

A

. gives an excuse to people as it is a predisposition.
. original sample was not representative so cant be generalised to the population
. it is a self report so can easily make up the results

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

neural explanation for biochemistry

A

serotonin- mood and impulse control. less serotonin means more likely to be impulsive

noradrenaline- fight and flight. more noradrenaline the more violent and aggressive

dopamine- addiction control. more dopamine means more likely to get addicted to substances which would be a motive for crimes such as stealing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

what is ADP

A

antisocial personality disorder. lacking empathy as there is reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex which many link to crime as they wont feel remorse

22
Q

MAOA gene

A

a gene that alters the level of neurotransmitters released. this can link to aggression

23
Q

research for neural explanation

A

Higley- levels of testosterone linked to aggression. shows have neurotransmitters may underpin offending behaviours

24
limitations of neural explanation
. all tested on working class people. could it be situation based or innate. .tests mainly done on animals . neurotransmitter levels can be skewed from mental health problems. this means it is not biologically innate to have less of specific neurotransmitters
25
cognitive explanations of offending
level moral reasoning, cognitive distortions (hostile attribution bias), minimalisation, differential association theory
26
what is the level of moral reasoning
states of moral reasoning is a stage process whereby as someone matures their moral reasoning becomes more sophisticated.
27
Kohlberg's stages of moral reasoning
.pre-conventional morality= punishment stage (will I be punished?) reward stage (potential gains from committing or not committing the crime) .conventional morality= good boy stage (what others would think) law and order stage (obedience to the law) .post-conventional morality= social contract stage (adhere to the law but will commit a crime if necessary) ethical principle stage (individuals have their own moral codes and commit crimes if they feel like it is unjust)
28
research for moral reasoning
hollin- suggested that offenders where in a less mature stage of moral reasoning than non offenders
29
strengths of moral reasoning
it can account for individual differences so can explain for example why one person would commit a crime and why someone else wouldn't
30
limitations for moral reasoning
Kohlberg's data was based on only boys so may have sexual bias. Gillian found that woman are more likely to think about the effect on others whereas men think about justice and fairness these were all based on hypothetical scenarios so will lower predictability
31
what is hostile attribution bias
it is where people make an assumption that others action are in some way a negative reaction to the self
32
research for hostile attribution bias
crick and dodge- evidence to support a relationship between hostile attribution bias and aggression in children and adolescence.
33
strengths to hostile attribution bias
there is research support between hostile attribution bias and offending behaviours. hostile attribution bias is the main reason for aggression in children. this can lead to offending behaviours
34
limitation for hostile attribution bias
it is based on hypothetical situations so cant be very real world applicable it doesnt work at explaining all crimes such as impulsive aggression can not explain planned crimes so this cant be a full explanation
35
what is minimalisation
this is where the criminal will down play their crimes to rationalise what they have done. this can help the criminal to feel less guilt for their crimes
36
research for minimalisation
maruna v Mann- minimalisation is not an explanation for offending it is just a way of coping with committing the crime
37
strengths of minimalisation
studies have shown that the more the criminal minimalises their crime the more likely it is for the crime to get more serious
38
limitation to minimalisation
argued it is just a coping strategy for after a crime is committed rather than an explanation as for why they commit crimes evidence that minimalisation is more prominent in some criminal populations than others. it is more common in sex offending crimes. this means the influence is very different for all types of crimes
39
what is differential association theory
crime is learnt through family, media, area of living or prison. they learn crimes from their environment
40
research for differential association theory
Sutherland- created this theory
41
strength for differential association theory
it can explain the prevalence of crimes in different areas. high rate crimes are mostly done in urban built up areas.
42
limitations for differential association theory
the theory is too general. it is similar to SLT and it has no proof of cognitive processes so has no deeper level of processing it can not explain all crimes such as embezzlement. one off crimes can not also be explained by this theory
43
what are they psychodynamic explanations of offending
superego, maternal deprivation and defence mechanisms
44
what is the superego
the superego develops around the age of 4. superego provides the ability to stop a behaviour
45
what is a deviant superego
adopting similar behaviours to the same sex parent. they adopt similar morals to same sex parents
46
overdeveloped superego
they have an overwhelming amount of guilt so the commit crime to cope with this
47
underdeveloped superego
they feel no guilt so are controlled by impulsivity and a selfish manner
48
what is maternal deprivation
if a child does not receive a supportive start to life. this could lead to delinquent behaviours.
49
what are defence mechanism
how the unconscious mind reduced stress
50
what is displacement
the move the strong emotion from the actual target to a neutral target
51
what is sublimation
the strong impulses from the id express it in a more socially acceptable way
52
what is rationalisation
it is where they rationalise there criminal behaviours so it increases
53
limitations to the psychodynamic explanation
theoretical concept of defence mechanisms are generated from the unconscious mind so are completely untestable there are many examples of people who have expected a traumatic childhood and not committed crimes research on Bowlby's study was a retrospective study which he interpreted himself so it has investigator bias

psychology (13 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions